The use of robotic arms for removing finished parts from moulds is known. Typically the robotic arm has a tool affixed to the end of the arm that has grippers that enter the mould, clamp onto and hold the part as the robotic arm pulls the finished part from the mould. The tool that is affixed to the end of the robotic arm is custom made using a multiple piece frame with various mounts for grippers. The frame piece, gripper mount locations and actual grippers are adjustable to allow the tool to be custom made and adjusted to determine the location where the finished part is grabbed by the grippers. Adjustments and tool design are carried out in the field using actual finished parts on the product line. As a result it takes several days to adjust and customize the tool and finished parts are destroyed as a result of grippers being place at poor locations and tearing the finished part as it is removed from the mold. Once the tool is setup the large number of components and adjustment points lead to problems during the life of the tool due to misalignment and loosening of the adjustment points. FIG. 1 is a prior art drawing of a conventional tool, which shows several pieces and adjustment points.
The grippers have two or three fingers that open and close by an actuation arrangement, typically a pneumatic or hydraulic actuator. There are two types of grippers that are used in conventional tools. First is a stationary gripper, which is mounted to the frame and configured to grab the finished part and pull the part away from the mould using the force provided by the robotic arm. The second type of gripper is called a slide gripper, which moves along a slide rail and grips and pulls the part using force generated by an actuator connected to the slide gripper. The sliding movement of the slide gripper is independent of the pulling force of the robotic arm. Both types of grippers use a two or three finger design, with each finger having a contact surface area with the finished part that is generally one-half inch, which can generate enough pressure to tear the finished part if the gripper is at a weaker location of the finished part. The conventional gripper design can also create tool design issues in applications where the grippers need to be located close to each other because the actuators of the grippers have housings that take up space on the tool frame, which results grippers having a minimum spacing.
As a result of the above conventional design, there is a need to provide an effector tool that is customized and engineered to have fewer components, accurate gripper placement and require little or no on-site trial and error adjustment. There is further a need to provide a tool that will not become misaligned or require adjustments to the frame of the tool. There is further a need to provide a tool that will not require trial and error adjustment, which results in finished parts being destroyed or damaged. There is further a need to provide a new gripper design that overcomes the minimum spacing design obstacles encountered with conventional gripper designs.